Do Dreams Actually Matter?

Is dreaming a vital biological function, or is it just a random "side effect" of your brain doing

its nightly maintenance? This is one of the biggest debates in neuroscience. Some experts believe

the phenomenological experience—the actual story of the dream—is the critical element for our brain’s

health. But another school of thought suggests the dream itself is irrelevant.

In this view, the real work happens at the biological level, like re-wiring neural

networks during REM sleep. The dream you "see" might just be a fleeting byproduct

of that physical process—a bit like the light coming off a computer screen while it’s running

a complex programme. Essentially, the biological "update" is what matters, not the images it